It's All In the Game
by Trunks lil' sis
Summary: Sometimes we find our soul mates in the most unlikely ways. DanielVala


-1Title: It's All In The Game

Rating: PG/13+

Summary: Sometimes we find our soul mates in the most unlikely ways.

Warnings: angsty!Danny alert!

Pairing: Daniel/Vala

Disclaimer: I own it like I own Santa

Wordcount: 2250

It's All In The Game:

They were always playing basketball, which in itself was nothing new. Daniel had learned quiet quickly that despite football being the supposed favorite sport of any warm blooded American, and hockey in Jack's case, that basketball seemed to dominate conversation at the SGC.

From his earliest moments in the complex, he'd been subjected to mindless hours of discussion just outside his door, and again in the Mess. By the end of his first month back on Earth after his time on Abydos, he knew quite certain The Lakers were a formidable team, but The Kings had an incredible defense. For offense he went squarely with The Celtics, but his favorite of all the teams lay within The 76ers. For a few nights out of the week, under intense secrecy, he forewent documentaries and watched a basketball game. It was his guilty pleasure.

He learned to play basketball almost immediately. It was Jack's way, Daniel imagined, of integrating SG-1 as smoothly and as quickly as possibly. Basketball as it was learned, took dedication, practice, teamwork, trust, spirit, and everything SG-1 needed to have, at least if they wanted to avoid being killed in battle. They played three against one at first, as Teal'c proved to be a formidable opponent once he learned the rules, and then slowly they worked their way into games with far more equal sides.

The years progressed, their enemies changed, but the game never did. It didn't matter if they'd nearly just been killed, which was more often then not, they found time to play. If Teal'c was off world at the moment, they waited impatiently for him to return before engaging in a game. No matter the situation, they were a team. They went through the gate as a team, played as a team, were the epitome of a team.

When Jack left for Washington they fractured. They were still a team spiritually, but it was as if they were breaking up. Jack had already left, Teal'c was hard pressed to remain on Dakara, Sam was offered a transfer to Area 51 and Daniel found an opening on The Daedalus bound for Atlantis. They didn't have time to play their game. It almost seemed as if Jack had been the glue holding them all together.

With the arrival of Cameron Mitchell, not much changed at first. The appointed commander of SG-1 tried valiantly to, as he put it, 'get the team back together', but there were forces working he couldn't quite understand at the time. Nonetheless, when Mitchell offered Daniel a quick game of one-on-one to pass the time, he accepted. It didn't make him feel whole, but something inside him was rejuvenated.

Things rushed by at an alarming rate after Mitchell arrived at the complex. Vala, the beautiful yet dangerous woman had ventured through the gate, and slapped an alien device around Daniel's wrist, binding them together for seemingly all eternity.

To Daniel, Vala was an enigma. She was a woman who had so clearly been hurt in her past, and had built up so many walls it was almost impossible to tell what was real and what was not. There were moments when she spoke that Daniel actually felt a connection between the two of them. The moments were rare, but briefly he could see passed her shields, through the warning signs, and right into her heart which was kind and fully capable of love. In those moments she was real, and so insanely appealing. But then she went and completely spoiled everything when she pounced on him like a sexual deviant.

Daniel considered himself a plain, simple and calm man. He'd seen too many horrors, experienced too many unspeakable things and lost too many friends. He'd fought a long and hard fight against the Goa'uld, lost his wife, a lover and somewhere along the line, most of his sanity. By the time the Ori made themselves a threat he was bone-weary. Part of him would always crave the spark of life, but mostly he just wanted to exist without oppression. He wanted to keep his planet safe, protect people who were incapable of protecting themselves, and he wanted calm--not calm before the storm.

He was reviewing a set of ancient writings when he passed by one of the base's gyms. As always Vala was trailing behind him, a catalog for Tiffany's in her hands. After much prodding and demanding, and after striking a deal for peace, he'd promised to buy her one thing. She'd given him hours of silence in return, her attention spent wholly on picking out the prettiest thing she could find.

The sound of a basketball bouncing on the hardwood court caught Daniel's ear and he stopped so abruptly Vala collided with his back, spilling her catalog onto the ground. She bent to retrieve it and grumbled, "What'dya stop for?" She flipped through the pages quickly, trying to find the one she'd stopped on.

Daniel waved a hand in her direction and wandered towards the gym entrance, files tucked to his chest.

"Hey, Jackson?" Mitchell called through the open doorway, faking a shot and curling around Teal'c for a better angle. "Wanna get in on this?"

Daniel blinked at the sight, feeling Vala press against his back as she tried to peek over his shoulder. "I didn't know you were back, Teal'c." He smiled at his longtime friend, glad to see the Jaffa without his normal lines of worry. "Everything okay?"

In a quick and unexpected move Teal'c launched himself upward, intercepting Mitchell's shot. He halted the game by tucking the ball under his arm and against his side. "All is fine. I am merely visiting."

Mitchell reached for Teal'c and the ball, only to have it jerked away further. "Like I said," he commented, tongue just peeking out the side of his mouth in concentration. "Want to give me a hand here?"

Behind Daniel Vala was bouncing on her feet. He could feel the excitement radiating off of her, and he was impressed she'd taken to the game already without serious exposure.

"Teach me to play, Daniel," She nearly begged, tugging on his arm. "Teach me."

And hey, Daniel decided in a flash, if Teal'c and Mitchell were being friendly enough to play, he could take fifteen minutes to teach Vala. This was her being true. She was actually interested and curiosity was something Daniel always sought to fulfill.

He took her catalog and his files and placed them in the corner of the gym. "It's a simple game, really," he told her, unzipping his jacket.

The fifteen minutes he'd silently promised had turned into nearly an hour. Vala had taken to the game like a natural, even if they were playing by modified rules. She had amazing hand-eye coordination and when she smiled Daniel smiled back. It wasn't long before she and Teal'c were beating the other two men by a rather large gap of points. Mitchell didn't seem to mind when her foot occasionally crossed the foul line, and Daniel didn't put up a fuss when Teal'c lifted her closer to the basket to assure points.

When they stopped for a water break, the feeling hit Daniel like a freight train. He was uncapping the water bottle Teal'c had tossed to him when he realized it. For the first time since Jack had left, he was content. Tossing the ball around had made him feel normal, which was something he'd felt he'd never know again. Then, in a scary edge to the first feeling, he realized playing with Jack and Sam had never made him feel like everything would be okay. They'd made him feel protected, that if the Goa'uld launched an attack at the very moment they'd be there to keep him safe, and together they'd work out a plan to stop the evil overlords.

With Teal'c, Mitchell and Vala, he felt on fire. Not to say they'd replaced any of his previous teammates, but they made him feel like he could do anything. When Teal'c blocked his shot he doubled his efforts, and when Mitchell missed a throw, Daniel adjusted his own stance to correct the rebound. Most important, when Vala brushed against him he felt his skin warm with electricity. Her smile had his heart beating harder then he'd believed possible, making him heave for breath. She made him weak in the knees like a teenager and he was okay with that.

Vala cheered loudly when Teal'c scored what would be the winning basket, as the rest of the men having a briefing in a cool twenty minutes. With adrenaline running through her body she high-fived Teal'c, a move she'd seen some of the others do when excited, and bumped her hips against his in a victory dance.

Daniel watched her twirl around the room, giggling and rushed with excitement. Her taunts towards him were suddenly endearing, her smile the sweetest thing he'd ever seen. He smiled wide and with sweaty fingers caught her forearm. A split second later she was pressed against his sweat chest, and on her tiptoes. Their mouths met in a chaste kiss. There wasn't passion, or lust, but instead sincerity and a promise.

When he released her from his all encompassing grip, a goofy expression graced her face.

They were alone, neither noticed, Teal'c and Mitchell having already left for the showers.

She raised a hand to the side of his face and softly ran her fingers over skin. "Daniel," she spoke almost in a breathy, soft tone.

Daniel searched her face for one emotion, something that told him how she really felt about their kiss. He wanted to know--had to know.

A high-pitched squeal of sorts was his reply. She wasted no time launching herself up on him, arms around his neck and feet locked around his waist. Her lips smashed into his and the force sent him toppling backwards. She showered his face was kisses, tongue sweeping across his lips in a sensual way. "My Daniel," she sighed, hands threading through his hair in a caress. He let her, because as annoying and fake as she could be at certain times, she made him complete, and it didn't matter if he fought the feeling, he couldn't make it feel any less real.

Later he lost her like he'd lost every other woman in his life. He'd been short with her, ignored her, and he'd paid for it. She was … who knew where, lost, without anyone. She was used to being on her own, but he knew she'd still be scared. He would find her, he promised dead space, he'd find her and he'd make sure she knew he wanted her by his side. He'd make sure she understood he just needed her.

Sam was back and together SG-1 played basketball again. But even Sam couldn't make him feel whole again, no matter how much the woman he considered his sister tried.

The call from Jack didn't make him feel any better either, nor did Landry's promise to look for Vala.

Maybe he was destined to live his life alone, without the comfort of a loved one. He'd lost his wife, Sarah, and dozens of friends. He'd lost his way, his path, and even his life a couple times. Was he supposed to be alone for the rest of his life?

Months later the alternate versions of SG-1 began coming through the 'gate. He just happened to be rushing to a briefing with SG-1 and Landry when he'd caught her out of the corner of his eye. She was decked out in standard SGC off world uniform, and Daniel almost mistook her for his own version. She was just standing there, surrounded by her version of Teal'c, Daniel, and Sam, in line with other SG-1 teams waiting for processing. He stood, struck by her beauty, and narrowly avoided colliding with the Airman in charge of counting the new teams.

He watched enviously as her Daniel wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a loving hug. They shared a quick embrace and seconds later it was as if they were mere friends. Daniel might have been inclined to believe the hug to be friendly if he hadn't recognized his alternate version's protective stance, or the pure love radiating from the alternate Vala. They were in love, he realized, wholly and deeply in love. They had what Daniel had missed out on.

Daniel broke away from the scene and jogged the short distance to the briefing room, his mind whirling. If his alternate version could have Vala, then certainly he stood a chance as well. He might have lost Vala once, but when he found her again, he'd make sure that never happened again. He'd have the loving intimacy with Vala that his alternate had, and he wouldn't give up. Daniel Jackson wasn't known for throwing the towel in, and damned if he wouldn't have one good thing in his life. He'd been in denial for a while, but Vala was the one good thing, and they deserved each other.

"Sir," Walter informed Landry, half a year after Vala's disappearance. The Sergeant studied his computer in front of him, eyes flying from the active gate, to the General, and then finally to Daniel. "It's Vala."


End file.
